Tag Archives: support israel

Stop the presses… the “Palestinians” are whining again. They’ve been insulted. Mitt Romney, while in Israel, said that the “Jewish culture” has made Israel successful. The “Palestinians” find this to be a racist comment.

Of course they also thought that taking a moment of silence during the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games to remember the eleven murdered Israelis during the 1972 Munich Olympics was “racist” as well – I assume that’s because they were the murderers… and murdering Jews simply because of their religion might identify the “Palestinians” as the real racists and they didn’t really want that made public on the world stage.

Then again, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) obliged them – rather than pointing out to the world the hypocrisy of the “Palestinians” as well as the Muslim world who had threatened to boycott the Games.

Romney did the right thing and did not appease the “Palestinians” by pretending that their “culture” is equal to the “Jewish culture”. To begin with, Jews believe in the sanctity of life. The “Palestinians” clearly do not. Hey, hey, how many buses have you bombed today? – comes to mind. Jews have a strong focus on education and taking care of the next generation. The “Palestinians” clearly do not. Summer camps named after so-called martyrs that teach kids how to to shoot machine guns and blow themselves up do not constitute being “educational”. Surprisingly enough, neither are school textbooks that portray Christians and Jews as pigs, dogs and monkeys. Children’s television programming with children singing about “jihad” and “martyrdom” wouldn’t fall under “educational” either.

One has to wonder about the “Palestinian culture” of which they are so proud.

To show support for the Jewish culture which has contributed to Western Civilization as a whole and to the world community through amazing medical, technological and other breakthroughs (Nobel Prize winners) doesn’t require a person to be a rocket scientist, but it does require honesty and, it seems, a little bit of backbone. It’s nice to finally see these traits in a presidential candidate. It’s about time.

In a strong foreign policy speech, Mitt Romney reminded Jews that they have a friend in the United States.

“It is a deeply moving experience to be in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.
Our two nations are separated by more than 5,000 miles. But for an American abroad, you can’t get much closer to the ideals and convictions of my own country than you do in Israel. We’re part of the great fellowship of democracies. We speak the same language of freedom and justice, and the right of every person to live in peace. We serve the same cause and provoke the same hatreds in the same enemies of civilization.
It is my firm conviction that the security of Israel is in the vital national security interest of the United States. And ours is an alliance based not only on shared interests but also on enduring shared values.”

Romney’s speech honored the past tragedies that are memorialized on Tisha B’Av and he looked forward reminding Israel that the United States stands with them as allies against countries like Iran.

“We have seen the horrors of history. We will not stand by. We will not watch them play out again.”

At a time when the current U.S. administration’s attitude toward Israel is tepid at best and when Press Secretary Carney is unable to acknowledge Israel’s chosen capital this speech by Romney is refreshingly clear.

The news world is all abuzz with the possibility that “Palestinian” leader Yasser Arafat was murdered.

The big story was broken by the most “trustworthy” of sources… al-Jazeera, a news network sometimes known for its terrorist ties.

Al-Jazeera’s investigation into Arafat’s death has revealed that his clothing has traces of the radioactive material polonium-210, suggesting that radioactive poisoning led to his death. Now the questions are flying… how could this happen? Who could be responsible for his death?

I have my own questions.

1. Why did al-Jazeera decide now, eight years after Arafat’s death, to test his clothing?

2. If Arafat was truly murdered – who really cares? Aren’t terrorists supposed to be targeted and killed?

Yasser Arafat created the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964. Three years before the Israeli “occupation” of Judea/Samaria (West Bank) and the Gaza Strip. If the PLO was formed three years in advance of the occupation – where was this ‘Palestine’ that he was hoping to liberate?

That would obviously be the State of Israel – Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem (the western half), Be’er Sheba included. The map of Israel is included in the PLO emblem, not just the “occupied” parts, answering our question. Of course, Jordan, the eastern half of Palestine under the British Mandate was ignored. Only the Jewish presence in the Land needed to be murdered and expelled.

Yasser Arafat was a murderer of Americans as well as Israelis. Unarmed men, women and children were targets of this “liberation” movement. School buses were deemed legitimate targets. Olympics athletes as well.

In later years, Arafat supposedly became a man of “peace” – but one who spoke of war in Arabic to his brothers, and of peace to the Western media.

Yasser Arafat was a murderer, plain and simple, of hundreds of innocents. Whether or not he was targeted doesn’t much matter. The only question that matters now is why he wasn’t killed sooner.

Imagine a world where destruction of historic and archeological sites is dismissed as unimportant and irrelevant by the World Community. Imagine a world where the murder of innocents gets a moment of silence but is otherwise ignored by that same World Community. Imagine again, that this is not a make-believe world, but truly the one we live in. The World Community seems to be quite a tolerant bunch depending on what group you belong to. Perhaps they’ll even admit you into their little organizations – despite or perhaps because of past ‘activities’.

Let’s start with the UNESCO vote to allow the “Palestinians” into their agency. UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. I wonder if anyone could list what the “Palestinian” contributions have been to humanity at large up until this point? Anyone?

Aside from the fact that the “Palestinians” deny Jewish history – denying that the Jewish Temples in Jerusalem ever existed, denying that modern day Jews are the descendants of those Jews of 3000 years ago, denying 3000 years of Jewish existence in the Land of Israel, and even denying the Holocaust – is the fact that the “Palestinians” actively destroy Jewish historical artifacts and sites.

One would imagine that actively destroying anyone’s historical artifacts and sites would be frowned upon by UNESCO – but I suppose that it depends on who is doing the destruction. The “Palestinians” seem to be exempt.

Here are just a few examples of important Jewish holy sites being attacked and destroyed:
* In Septemer 1996, Palestinian rioters destroyed a synagogue at Joseph’s Tomb in Schem/Nablus.
* Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem has been repeatedly attacked since 1996.
* In October 2000, Joseph’s Tomb was torched after the Israeli garrison guarding it was temporarily withdrawn. It was subsequently rebuilt as a mosque.
* Also in October 2000, the ancient synagogue in Jericho was destroyed by arson and a second historic synagogue was damaged.
* The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the holiest site in Judaism, home of the First and Second Temples, has also seen tremendous destruction of historical artifacts. From 1996-2001 historic parts of the Temple Mount were destroyed to make way for underground mosques.

In November 1999, the Islamic clerics opened what they called an “emergency exit” to the new mosque. Over three days and nights, the “exit” expanded into a gaping hole, 18,000 square feet in size, and up to 36 feet deep. Thousands of tons of ancient fill from the site, subsequently found by Israeli archeologists to contain artifacts dating as early as the First Temple period, were dumped into the Kidron Valley.

In February and March 2001, an ancient arched structure built against the eastern wall of the Temple Mount enclosure was razed by bulldozers in order to further enlarge the “emergency gate” of the new mosque at Solomon’s Stables.

Furthermore, without any archeological supervision, approximately 6,000 square meters of the ancient surface level of the Temple Mount were dug up by tractors, paved, and declared to be open mosques. The previous director of the Antiquities Authority has called this “an archeological crime.” No Israeli official has seen any plans or has set limits on the work being carried out.

One would imagine that the destruction of a 3000 year site would stop a world body from allowing these “people” from joining the ranks of those who care about history and the preservation of ancient artifacts. But again, I suppose it matters who is doing the destruction and whose property is being destroyed.

I also suppose that we shouldn’t be surprised by any of this. World organizations seem to like to reward egregiously destructive behavior such as those demonstrated by the “Palestinians”.

The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta saw the “Palestinians” participate in the Games for the first time. Only 24 years after the Munich Olympic Massacre of the Israeli athletes – unarmed civilians there to complete on the world stage, the “Palestinians” were welcomed to compete as well. Once again, it matters who is doing the murdering and who is being murdered. The “Palestinians”, of course, again get a pass.

So which world organization is next to admit the “Palestinians”? Would it be the World Heath Organization (WHO)? Perhaps using ambulances (Red Crescent and UNRWA) to transport bombs and terrorists would be sanctioned by WHO. Is this scenario really so far fetched?

Everything seems to be morally relative when it comes to the “Palestinians”. Destroy historic artifacts and sites, holy sites not withstanding, and get admitted to UNESCO. Murder innocent Jewish athletes at the Olympics, and be admitted to those same Games a few years later. All is forgiven. Moral relativity at it’s best – all dependent on the parties at hand. The World at large seems to have a sliding scale of standards, but then again, no surprise there.

I cried as I watched the Hamas held Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, return to his family while throngs of people waving Israeli flags and singing Am Yisroel Chai (the nation of Israel lives) danced outside. It was a great moment. I’m happy he’s home.

The prisoner exchange that set Shalit free I believe we can label a valuable “teachable moment”. What lessons were learned and what were taught?

We learned that Israelis believes that every life is precious. Israel willingly traded 1027 terrorists – hundreds of them serving multiple life sentences for cold blooded murder – in order to see Shalit returned safely home after over 5 years in captivity without one International Red Cross visit.

It’s an admirable idea – to care for each soldier as if he were everyone’s son, brother, father – and since military service is compulsory – Shalit really does represent everyone. This is why we saw that 80% of Israeli’s supported this exchange.

While we learned that Israel cares about the sanctity of life, and was willing to go to great lengths to save Gilad Shalit – we also taught the terrorists a very important lesson as well: Jewish blood is cheap.

In other words: Kill a Jew, serve a few years and go home a hero.

The modern state of Israel rose out of the ashes of the Holocaust with “Never Again” the watchwords of the Jewish State. With this exchange, “Never Again” became an empty slogan. The idea that Israel was to be a safe haven for Jews, that Jewish blood could never be spilled in vain, is gone.

Some of the most horrific crimes against the citizens of the Jewish state: the 2000 Ramallah lynching, the 2001 Sbarro pizzaria bombing, the 2001 Dolphinarium discotheque bombing, the 2002 Passover massacre bombing, bus bombings and so many more – those terrorists who perpetrated them, or who helped those who carried them out are being freed to carry out more attacks on innocent men, women and children.

Life is precious, however, an innocent life is certainly more precious than the life of a murderer. Until now, Israel has reserved the death penalty for Nazis. It’s certainly way past time to put terrorists to death as well. By allowing these murderers (and some mass murderers) to walk free it minimizes the deaths of those innocents who were killed by those same people.

What of the victim’s families? Their pain never ends. As Sherri Mandel, whose 13 year old son was murdered, explains:

Most people don’t understand the continuing devastation of grief: fathers who die of heart attacks, mothers who get sick with cancer, children who leave school, families whose only child was murdered. We see depression, suicide, symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. You wouldn’t believe how many victims’ families are still on sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication. We see the pain that doesn’t diminish with time. We literally see people die of grief.

In allowing these unrepentant murderers to go free, we see that terrorism truly does work. Every Israeli (and Jew) has now become a target for kidnapping. Calls for another Gilad Shalit have already begun. It’s no surprise. Terrorism works. There is no down-side to kidnapping (or murdering for that matter) Jewish innocents. Kill as many Jews as you would like – you’ll be free in a few years and you can do it all over again.

There needs to be a new lesson taught. That Jewish blood is not cheap. There must not be any murderers held in prison for life sentences awaiting the next exchange. They should be given a trial and executed if guilty. There must be a serious disincentive for spilling Jewish blood. If there isn’t, G-d forbid, we are going to see future exchanges which will only result in more blood spilled.

We’ve all heard that the Palestinian bid for full United Nations membership has to go to the Security Council first. We also all know that the United States has threatened to veto this bid.

What is a disturbing footnote to this story is that the US is attempting to avoid using it’s veto power.

However, officials in both Israel and in Washington have affirmed that the U.S. was hard at work to prevent itself the possible embarrassment of being forced to use its veto power in order to thwart the Palestinian vote, by attempting to assemble enough council members to either vote against the proposal or abstain as to make the veto unnecessary.

Why is the United States trying to avoid using their veto? Perhaps they are trying to keep the Arab world happy with them by not throwing their wholehearted support behind Israel? But then again, wasn’t the “Arab Spring” all about replacing totalitarian dictatorships with “freedom” and “democracy”? Shouldn’t the Arab world show their appreciation to the United States for bringing those basic concepts to the world at large?

Rather, what we see is the United States’ public face turning away from the principles that have made us great. We see a fearful stance – trying to have it both ways – keeping the Arab world happy by attempting not to use their veto, and keeping the Israelis happy by stating their support for the Jewish state.

Where is the United States’ clear support for an ally of 60+ years? Words are cheap. Statements of support are easy to make. The US should be clear that they are vetoing this Palestinian bid without any attempt to find a way out of it.

Since when has the United States become a “follower” rather than a “leader” in the moral-relativity zone known as the United Nations? The US has been the moral compass of the world for years and now it seems that our needle is broken. We’re willing to relinquish that leadership role.

Is this where we’re headed? Is the US the same as every other two-bit nation that holds a seat at the United Nations? Are we no longer the power that we once were – too afraid of Arab and world “opinion” to do the right thing?

Everyone is in a tizzy over the Palestinian bid for United Nations’ recognition of “Palestine” as a member state. Will they go through with the bid? Won’t they? Can the United States stop them? Should they?

What no one is doing is challenging the Palestinian claim to the lands known as the “West Bank” – or in fact their claim to ‘peoplehood’. The only thing being challenged is the timing and the road being taken to statehood. “Palestinian” legitimacy is being assumed… and we know where assuming takes us.

The idea that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an old one – centuries or millenia old is a pure fiction… but it is repeated over and over again.

Let’s take a few minutes to get our facts straight.

Where does the name “Palestine” come from?
In 135 AD, the Roman Empire attempted to break the strong connection between the Jewish People and the Land of Israel by renaming the area “Palestine” after the Philistines that had lived in the area during Biblical times.

The Philistines were a Greek-like people, not Arabs, like the “Palestinians” like to claim. The Philistines disappeared from the area by the 1st Century AD.

Ever since the Romans renamed the area – the name “Palestine” stuck. Jews and Arabs were both referred to as “Palestinians”.

The “Palestine Mandate” given to the British to administer after the First World War included both what are now the countries of Jordan and Israel.

In 1922, the British broke off 80% of the Palestine Mandate and gave it to the Hussein family – creating the country of Jordan. The Palestinians living in that area became Jordanians.

The rest of Palestine – which is now Israel – was then to be divided by the United Nations in 1947 into two states – one Arab, one Jewish. The Jews said ‘yes’, the Arabs said ‘no’ – unable to tolerate any Jewish presence in the area.

Israel declared independence in May 1948. The Jewish Palestinians then became Israelis. The Arabs in Israel had the option of becoming citizens of the Jewish state – some did and some did not. Those that did became Israelis and those that did not kept the denomination of “Palestinian”.

What needs to be understood is that these “Palestinians” are Arabs with no special claims to the Land. They chose not to be part of Jordan or Israel. There is no longer “Palestine” on the map. It is either Jordan or Israel – to claim a ‘Palestinian’ state is disingenuous.

The “Palestinian People” are a creation – a way of delegitimizing the Jewish claim to Israel. If, as they claim, the Palestinians were there first, then any Jews living in the land must be “occupiers” and do not belong there. We first see the “Palestinians” in 1964 when Yasser Arafat created the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), a terrorist organization with the goal of destroying Israel. (Please note that the PLO was established before the 1967 war in which Israel captured the “West Bank” and the Gaza Strip – not in response to the so-called occupation.)

That these “people” are refugees is a joke. They chose not to become citizens of either Jordan or Israel. During 1948, these Arabs left their homes in response to the invading Arab armies telling them they would be allowed to return to their homes after the Jews were driven into the sea.

It’s 60+ years later and they’re still sitting in camps bemoaning their fate. Who’s fault is it? Saudi Arabia and the oil rich Arab countries are unable to take in and care for their brothers? Guess so – but it clearly shows that that the Palestinians are there as willing pawns in the battle against Israel.

The accepted wisdom is that since the “Palestinians” occupy the same land as the Jews we must have negotiations to settle our differences – creating a two state solution, but why?

The “Palestinians” are an historical fiction. They are a tool of the Arab world, which has never accepted a Jewish presence, to destroy Israel. It is time to challenge the legitimacy of the “Palestinians” as a ‘people’ and certainly their right to a state at Israel’s expense.

I was reading through a pretty evenhanded article dealing with Canada’s opposition to Palestinian statehood – when all of a sudden it a took a sharp turn into the land of bias.

There were a couple statements in particular that gave me pause and a chuckle.

The article interviewed Rami Khouri, a “leading Mideast analyst” based in Lebanon,

“I think the critical point for any Western government — Canadian, American, British — is to differentiate between supporting the security of Israel and opposing the colonization polices of Israel. Israel within its 1967 borders is a phenomenon the world accepts, even the Arabs,” Khouri said. [emphasis added]

That’s right. The Arab world accepts Israel within 1967 borders and anything past the cease-fire lines is “colonization”.

Let’s talk about Arab acceptance of 1967 borders for a moment. Have they always accepted Israel within those borders? Did Jordan and the rest of the Arab world go to war with Israel in 1967 because they were upset about the occupation of the “1967 territories”? Was the Palestinian Liberation Organization founded in 1964 because they were upset about the Israeli occupation of 1967? Looking back in history – was the Hebron massacre of Jews in 1929 revenge for the Arab loss of land in 1967?

And that annoying little chant that I heard back at university anti-Israel rallies: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” Checking the map, it doesn’t seem to me that those 1967 borders are accepted by all, either that or those ‘protesters’ are unaware of their geography.

The other ridiculous claim that any settlement past those borders is “colonization” also gives me pause but unfortunately, no chuckle.

That’s right, Israel is colonizing Jewish land. 3000 years of Jewish history in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Biblical archeology has proven time and again Jewish historical possession in all of the Arab-occupied West Bank as well as modern possession until 1948 when Jordan took control – and occupied it until 1967. Why didn’t the Jordanians do anything during that time for those poor “Palestinians”? Perhaps because “Palestine” is a figment of historical imagination?

I just can’t figure this one out.

But let’s call a spade a spade already. The Arab world is a bunch of racists – especially the “Palestinians”. They are unable to allow a single Jew to live within the lands they occupy. All Jews had to be removed from the Gaza Strip before it was handed over to the “Palestinians”. Why? Because there would have been a massacre and everyone knows it. Whenever there is talk of “land for peace”, giving away parts of the “West Bank” to the Arabs, there is an assumption that the Jews living there would have to leave – why? Because the Arabs are unable and unwilling to let them live and do business there, even if it improves the lives of the Arab population. There would be a massacre and everyone knows it.

Israel, with a majority of Jews, can allow an Arab minority in it’s midst, even giving them full civil and political rights; but any land the Arabs have a majority in is dangerous for a Jew wandering through.

So yes, I agree with those who say that Judea/Samaria is “occupied land” – it is… by the Arabs. And those who think that Israel is safe as long as she stays within a nine-mile wide border must think that I’m stupid.

At the emergency meeting of the UN regarding another conflict in the Middle East, the floor has been given to the Israeli Consul. The Israeli Consul began, “Ladies and gentlemen before I commence with my speech, I wanted to relay an old story to all of you….

When Moses was leading the Jews out of Egypt he had to go through deserts, and prairies, and even more deserts… The people became thirsty and needed water. So Moses struck the side of a mountain with his cane and at the sight of that mountain a pond appeared with crystal clean, cool water. And the people rejoiced and drank to their hearts’ content. Moses wished to cleanse his whole body, so he went over to the other side of the pond, took all of his clothes off and dove into the cool waters. Only when Moses came out of the water he discovered that all his clothes had been stolen… And I have reasons to believe that the Palestinians stole his clothes.

“Yassir Arafat, hearing this accusation, jumps out of his seat and screams, “This is a travesty… It’s a lie! It is widely known that there were no Palestinians there at the time!!!”